Seven Months!!

 Seriously where did the past seven months go?  It's hard to believe that you are seven months old already.  It seems like there have not been too many significant changes in your development in the past month, but as I write this I'm sure I will be retracting that statement.  Let's see, just because it's the most recent change we will discuss it first.  You are a total mama's boy now.  The minute I hand you off to someone, you start to wail and reach back for me.  Now, you would think that any mother would long for this, but when all you want to do is be held, I long for those breaks from holding you when visiting friends and family.  Recently during Christmas we were visiting family and many of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents got to look at you but not hold you much at all.  But I can usually rely on handing you off to Daddy without any protest, unless you are extra cranky.  But, I must admit that I do love that you love me so much.

You can sit independently now.  Much better than at 6 months.  You still aren't crawling but you are still extremely mobile.  I can no longer put you in your bouncer because you have figured out how to get out of it, as well as the bumbo.  You still like the swing, but I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before you figure how to wriggle out of that too.  Thank goodness for your jumper.  You are liking it more and more now, especially since you have figured out how to jump in it.  You roll, scoot, and arch to get where you want.  And you are pulling yourself up onto your knees now too.

You are a talkative little guy.  You have perfected "da da" and now you have started yelling.  It's not a mad yell, but that classic yell babies do just because they can.  Sometimes you do it to protest, but most of the time it's just because.  We have FINALLY taken the sling out of your bath and you are sitting up in your tub now.  We were really nervous about letting you sit up in the bath, so it took us a while to transition.

You are in lots of transitions now.  You are sitting up in the bath.  You are sitting in high chairs in restaurants.  It's time to leave the car seat in the car at the grocery store too, and let you sit in the cart.  But I haven't gotten the guts up yet.  Tomorrow's the day...I think.  You seems really interested in finger foods but you HATE texture in food, so I guess finger foods will have to wait.  It's this time in your life that I have to learn with you during your transitions.  Which is where all my other mommy friends come in handy.  Thank you mommy friends.

You are still breastfeeding, even though we hit a rough patch there for a while and I was having to supplement with a bottle in the evening.  You are pretty much back to your normal nursing now, which these days is only about 10-15 mins and it's a very acrobatic 10-15 mins.  You still love to eat solid food and I have started giving you meat. Pureed meat, yum.

I forgot in include your height and weight stats last month, and they probably haven't changed too much so I'll include them here.  You are tall and lean, like all the rest of your Cook cousins and your Daddy.  You weighed 16 lbs and you are 27 inches long.  You are in the 16th percentile for weight and the 67th percentile for height.  You are sleeping good these days.  We put you down by 8 and you usually wake up anywhere between 430 and 5.  But you usually go back to sleep for a little while after I nurse you.

Hearing you giggle is probably the funniest and sweetest noise I have ever heard.  Me or Daddy get you rolling and we both crack up hearing you laugh.  Although you never laugh at the same thing twice, so it's a challenge and mostly an accident when it happens.  We can usually get a guaranteed laugh out of you when you play with George, when Daddy takes a swig of his beer, go figure, or when Daddy does a funny dance.  That has to be my favorite.

Since it's hunting season and all, Daddy has been teaching you all about hunting and animals.  He likes to take you in the living room to look at all of his dear mounts.  You stare up at them, and your arm suddenly starts to drift up toward it to touch it.  Daddy can't wait to get you out there in the duck blind or deer stand.

He was very interested in the monthly sticker this time